The Ski Helmet Debate

If it had been thigh deep powder, would you have given your head such a smacker? Glad you are mostly okay ) New helmet time?

verbier_ski_bum wrote:I had a fall on Sunday, nothing major but knocked the side of my head. Took me a couple minutes to get myself together. Luckily the skis stayed on as if I also had to put them on in tigh-deep powder I would have probably broken down:) Anyway, I continued skiing but my neck was killing me by Monday morning, still very sore and stiff. Quite a bad whiplash, but head is OK and I am glad that there are helmets as I would've probably had a concussion on top of whiplash.

Glad to hear you are OK but confused, what did you hit your head on in powder that deep as nothing hard :?:

bandit wrote:If it had been thigh deep powder, would you have given your head such a smacker? Glad you are mostly okay ) New helmet time?

Ha! I wish I knew! I had to roll over to get my skis out and my friends couldn't believe I managed to smack my head, but I did hear the sound of helmet hitting something and my head bounced off sharply. I fell soon after I dropped in off-piste. So closer to the tracks snow was probably shallower, also it used to be quite bumpy there during our snow drought. Went to see an ostheopath this afternoon as the stiffness hasn't gone yet.

Not sure what to do with the helmet. Is there some sort of convention to get a new one after the one you've got has been tested?;) helmet is totally fine and i should probably stick with it now that I know that it works..:)

Oooh you were very unlucky. Creaky tendons in your neck? A good massage might help, what did the Osteopath have to say? There is no absolute convention to helmet replacement that I've seen. The mfrs expect you to replace after an impact (well they would) )
As most of the helmet lining materials seem to be Polystyrene and other hard foams, after a good smacker, the lining material will have been compressed and compacted, having absorbed the energy from the impact and provided you with a soft landing :mrgreen: .

With the next smacker, there will likely be less energy absorbed and more transferred to your bonce. Apart from that, as the liner is now a bit compacted, your helmet is probably a bit bigger inside (or your head may have shrunk)
)

Only you know how hard you hit down. Will you trust that helmet in the future?

verbier_ski_bum wrote:

bandit wrote:If it had been thigh deep powder, would you have given your head such a smacker? Glad you are mostly okay ) New helmet time?

Ha! I wish I knew! I had to roll over to get my skis out and my friends couldn't believe I managed to smack my head, but I did hear the sound of helmet hitting something and my head bounced off sharply. I fell soon after I dropped in off-piste. So closer to the tracks snow was probably shallower, also it used to be quite bumpy there during our snow drought. Went to see an ostheopath this afternoon as the stiffness hasn't gone yet.

Not sure what to do with the helmet. Is there some sort of convention to get a new one after the one you've got has been tested?;) helmet is totally fine and i should probably stick with it now that I know that it works..:)

I believe Tony is collecting helmets new & used, something to do with fire & Nov the 5th. :D

brooksy wrote:I believe Tony is collecting helmets new & used, something to do with fire & Nov the 5th. :D

Or you could use it as a hanging basket in the summer :lol:

The wet snow on the West coast or Norway or Whistler essentially makes a helmet a must if you were to avoid getting fogged glasses from wearing a soggy wooly. This alone makes a helmet and a poncho handy to have in your kit.

If I had just one safety piece of kit would go with the goggles. Still surprises me number of people you see skiing in trees or offpiste without. Anyone who has done this will know the odd face plant especially if low on snow like this year can bring you face (in a hurry) into to contact with small shrubby things and twigs sticking through.

Ski fast, slide far to avoid the solid hit on ground seems to be best advice, helmet or not.I have a helmet but wear the wooly to the bar. Blunt hit to head from slipping on ice/little tipsy seems far more likely in/to/from the latter. Could take some time for that piece of advice to catch on though :D.

AllyG wrote:

brooksy wrote:I believe Tony is collecting helmets new & used, something to do with fire & Nov the 5th. :D

Or you could use it as a hanging basket in the summer :lol:

Nice one Ally :lol:

You could also put it under the bed for use later if incontinent. :wink: